Virat Kohli’s return to the Ranji Trophy after 12 years created an electrifying atmosphere at the Arun Jaitley Stadium as fans gathered in large numbers to witness his first domestic red-ball appearance. As Kohli took the field, the crowd erupted in cheers. The roar of "Kohli, Kohli" echoed throughout the stadium, with fans showing their unwavering support for the former India captain. His presence brought an electric energy to the venue, as both fans and teammates shared in the excitement of his long-awaited return to domestic cricket.
The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) had initially predicted a crowd of about 10,000 for the match between Delhi and Railways, but the turnout far exceeded expectations. Even before the match started at 9.30 am, fans were eager to enter the stadium. Initially, only the 6,000-seat ‘Gautam Gambhir Stand’ was opened to spectators, but with the overwhelming response, officials quickly opened the 14,000-seat ‘Bishan Bedi Stand’. The lower tier of the ‘Bishan Bedi Stand’ was filled quickly, and the ‘Gautam Gambhir Stand’ was already at full capacity, pushing the total number of attendees to more than 12,000 by the time of the toss.
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Kohli’s last appearance in the Ranji Trophy came in November 2012, when Delhi faced Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad. In that match, Kohli came to bat after Delhi had lost two quick wickets. He scored 14 runs in the first innings before being dismissed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. In the second innings, Kohli added 43 runs before Bhuvneshwar dismissed him again. Delhi went on to lose the match by six wickets.
After 12 years, Kohli is hoping to make his return to the Ranji Trophy memorable with a strong performance.
In the ongoing match, Delhi won the toss and elected to field first.
Delhi (Playing XI): Arpit Rana, Sanat Sangwan, Virat Kohli, Yash Dhull, Ayush Badoni(c), Pranav Rajuvanshi(w), Sumit Mathur, Shivam Sharma, Navdeep Saini, Money Grewal, Siddhant Sharma
Railways (Playing XI): Anchit Yadav, Vivek Singh, Suraj Ahuja(c), Upendra Yadav(w), Mohammad Saif, Bhargav Merai, Karn Sharma, Rahul Sharma, Himanshu Sangwan, Ayan Chaudhari, Kunal Yadav
